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Tithe
Tithe is the first book in the Modern Faerie Tales trilogy by Holly Black. The first book in the series is about Kaye Fierch, a 16 year old girl, who is draged into the world of the Faerie one night after venturing into the forest. Overview Tithe is about sixteen-year-old Kaye Fierch. The book begins in Philadelphia, at one of Kaye's mother's concerts. After her mother's boyfriend, Lloyd, attempts to stab her mother for unknown reasons, her mother takes her back to Kaye's grandmother's house to stay. Once at her grandmother's house, Kaye beings to look for her old "imaginary" friends, who were faeries named Lutie-Loo, Spike, and Gristle. However, she can't find them and, begins to suspect that they were simply figments of her imagination. Her suspicions dissolve when she finds and saves the life of Roiben, a faerie knight, by pulling a magicked arrow out of his chest. In return, he grants her three truthfully answered questions about anything, which she does not immediately use. Soon after this, her old "imaginary" friends contact her and warn her that Roiben is a murderer who has murdered one of her friends. As revenge, Kaye tricks Roiben into telling her his full name (she later learns that by knowing the true name of a faerie, they are forced to obey whatever they are told to do). Later on, her same "imaginary" friends inform her that she is actually a changeling and that she should keep her human appearance, because the Unseelie Court wishes to use her as a tithe to hell. Since Kaye is not mortal, the ritual will be forfeit, and the fairies whom the Unseelie Court wants to be bound to them will go free. Kaye attempts to control her newfound abilities by enlisting the help of a Kelpie to teach her how to use magic. She is soon kidnapped by a group of fairies, as planned and is taken to the Unseelie Court to go through the sacrificial ceremony. At the climax of the ceremony, Roiben manages to free her from her bonds before she is killed and get them both safely away from the Court. In the process, he kills the queen of the Unseelie Court and many of her guards. Kaye and Roiben spend the day at Kaye's home, and discover that strange events are affecting the mortal world. Odd reports of mauling and kidnappings are reported on the news and Roiben makes Kaye understand that this is a result of the solitary fey being free for the next seven years. Kaye receives a call from her friend Janet, inviting her to come to a Halloween rave held at the waterfront, she tries to persuade her not to go but fails. She also discovers that Janet's openly gay brother, Corny, has followed a faerie knight he became infatuated with to the court. After a failed attempt to receive help from her "imaginary" faerie friends, Roiben and Kaye attend the rave. They are separated, and Kaye successfully locates her friends, but briefly leaves them to apologize to Janet's boyfriend for bewitching him earlier in the novel. However, she finds that the kelpie who lives near the waterfront has taken Janet into the water to kill her. In the novel, it is suggested that Janet went with him out of loneliness and a desire to get revenge on her boyfriend for going off with Kaye. Kaye follows but is too late and she manages to convince the kelpie to relinquish her body. Roiben finds Kaye mourning for her friend and gets her home. The next morning, she and Roiben travel to the Seelie Court's camp some distance away to see if Corny is there. They reach a dead end, but discover that the knight (Nephamael) has proclaimed himself the king of the Unseelie Court. Roiben is suspicious of the situation and thinks that it is a trap for Kaye and him. Later, Roiben's suspicions are proved correct when they enter the Unseelie Court. Nephamael, who had discovered Roiben's true name when Kaye shouted it at the tithe, uses it to take control over Roiben. He orders him to seize Kaye, but Roiben uses trickery to let her get away. Kaye then devises a plan to poison Nephamael, while Corny and Roiben amuse him. She goes through with it; however, before Nephamael is dead, the Seelie Queen arrives, hoping to take over the court (in which Corny goes slightly insane and stabs Nephamael multiple times, ultimately killing him). Roiben prevents this from happening by claiming the throne as his. The book ends approximately a week after this, just after Janet's funeral. Kaye is waiting for her mother to pick her up when Roiben appears, "wanting to return something". What he returns is a kiss he had "taken" from her on Halloween. The story closes with Kaye "giving" the kiss back, and a hopefully "happily ever after" ending. Main Characters Kaye Fierch Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms -- a struggle that could very well mean her death. She believed to be half japanese form her father. And given blonde hair by her mother.She is secretly a pixie who id put in place of the real Kaye Fierch who resides in the Bright Court with Lady Silarial, though she herself is unaware of this until two thirds through the novel. She is intelligent, mature and full of guile but sometimes naive. Ellen Fierch Kaye's mother. A struggling rock singer, she tours the country with her rock band, Stepping Razor, until an attack by Nephamael in the form of a controlled Lloyd forces her to move back in with her own mother temporarily. Fiery sprited but caring, she is more of a friend to Kaye than a parentl figure. Roiben (Rath Roiben Rye) A noble Seelie knight traded to the Unseelie Queen before the beginning of the novel as part of a truce agreement betwee the courts. He is a strong fighter and feared by many. He has a strong attraction to Kaye for reasons he does not initially understand. Inwardly hating the cruelty he is forced to perform for his new Queen, he thus harbours deep feelings of self-loathing and self-despair. Corny (Cornelius Stone) Janet's older brother. He is openly gay and is strongly attracted to Nephamael. It is implied heavily that Corny is a masochist. Janet Stone Corny's younger sister and Kaye's best friend since elementary school. Suspects Kaye of flirting with Kenny, as Kenny is mentioned flirting with numerous girls in the novel. She is oblivious to her friend and brother's faerie dealings. Lutie-Loo One of Kaye's "imaginary" faerie friends from childhood. She is the classic 'Tinkerbell', being only as few inches high with cornsilk hair and wings. Spike One of Kaye's "imaginary" faerie friends from childhood. Harbours strong dislike and distrust of Roiben. He is killed by Nephamael towards the end of the novel after giving him information in the hopes of gaining his favour. Gristle The last of Kaye's "imaginary" faerie friends from childhood. He is killed by Roiben during a 'fox hunt' after stealing cakes from the Unseelie Court and does not actively make an appearance in the novel. Nephamael Initially a knight of the Unseelie court, he is traded for Roiben as part of the Queen's truce. He hates his new "home" and delights in taking the throne of the Night Court for himself at the end of the novel. he is cruel, manipuating and ruthless, and takes great pleasure in toying with humans and esser faeries, especially when he meets Corny, whom he makes his pet. He ultimately pays the price for his cruelty, slain by Corny in a fit of murderous insanity whilst under the influence of magic. Silarial The Seelie Queen, sister to Nicnevin and Roiben's former mistress. It is believed she orchestrated the whole plot to kill Kaye and free the solitary fey. Nicnevin The Unseelie Queen, sister to Silarial. Beautiful as she is evil, she passes her days plotting against the Seelie kingdom and amusing herself and her subjects with cruel passtimes. She selects Kaye for the Tithe in order to gain control of the Soitary Fey, though the sacrifice is interrupted by Kaye taking control of Roiben during the ceremony. She is slain by Roiben during ensuing chaos. Kenny Janet's boyfriend, he becomes attracted to Kaye because she unwittingly enchanted him. The Kelpie A murderous waterhorse and one of the Solitary Fey, who teaches Kaye magic and how to make a glamour in return for a carousel horse companion. He kills Janet later in the novel, luring her away from a party on the Pier. Category:Books Category:Modern Faerie Tales